Patrick Chan complains about the time of World Team Trophy

Chan complained about the time of World Team Trophy. He pointed that skaters have difficulity with physical and mental preparation after the World Championships which is the biggest stage of the season. Because of the regulation that each country must send top skaters, "We have no choice of not taking part. This is obviously a problem. April is too late. I wanted to prepare for the Olympics." Chan said.

In the free, he unusually made many mistakes with 3 falls and finished 5th(2nd overall). He couldn't end his last performance of this season with a smile and his face was fallen saying "I feel irritated.".

I agree. And he shouldn't have said something like that in public as a team captain. He ruined the event with his own words. He often says something disrespectful to the fans, audience, and other skaters when he loses. Last year at Skate Canada he finished 2nd to Javier Fernandez and in the interview he said "This isn't a really important competition whether I win or not". I couldn't believe how he could say so at a competition of his own country.

Chan complained about the time of World Team Trophy. He pointed that skaters have difficulity with physical and mental preparation after the World Championships which is the biggest stage of the season. Because of the regulation that each country must send top skaters, "We have no choice of not taking part. This is obviously a problem. April is too late. I wanted to prepare for the Olympics." Chan said.

In the free, he unusually made many mistakes with 3 falls and finished 5th(2nd overall). He couldn't end his last performance of this season with a smile and his face was fallen saying "I feel irritated.".

That is your words. I see his face as 'exhausted' and 'disappointed'. This article is in Japanese. Is that the correct translation?

Where are the words which imply he is disrespectful to fans? Honest yes in answering queries. I can also choose to misinterpret any skater's words if I choose like you do if I wish to purposely take words out of context or read evil into everything someone says.

"It's frustrating to end the season like this," Chan said. "I don't really have a choice for this competition and did it for the team. I had a good season with the world championships but it's hard to travel all this way, my body is not happy competing at this time of year."

&#8220;I&#8217;ve been feeling off since I got here. It&#8217;s been really a lot of hard work trying to get myself motivated to do the program. It&#8217;s hard to go back to training after Worlds&#8221;, Chan noted.

&#8220;I didn&#8217;t have my best skate today, but because it&#8217;s a team event, I didn&#8217;t feel alone on the ice. As soon as I came off, my teammates were right there, encouraging me, and that&#8217;s what makes this event so special,&#8221; said Team Captain Patrick Chan. &#8220;I&#8217;m so proud of all our team members today. Kevin really made the difference for us and helped us make up ground from day one. I can&#8217;t wait to see how our ladies and pair team finish tomorrow. Don&#8217;t count Team Canada out for the gold just yet!&#8221;

I think he shouldn't have spoken his mind even though it must be on most skaters' mind, sometimes I feel he should be prohibited to speak to the journalists. But like Casken said, other skater who said basically the same was lauded for his honesty but since it's Patrick, he's automatically nailed.

Really? April is the PERFECT time for the top skaters to get some rest and recharged, even if it's not toward the Olympic season.

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And after this competition is over tomorrow, there will be over two weeks left of April to rest.

The complaining in this sport sometimes gets to be ridiculous. Other professional sports have far more grueling competitive schedules than this. Look at the NHL...They are playing 82 games a year, plus a playoff season. Obviously there are major differences between hockey and figure skating (and international traveling for skating is of course more grueling), but a hockey player would probably laugh at a figure skater complaining over having to compete 6 or 7 times a year. Look at MLB... They play over 160 games per year. Sure, it's not as grueling of a sport as skating and they don't have to do 4 minute long programs, but if they can handle a 162 game season (plus playoffs) without getting overly mentally fatigued, I think elite level figure skaters should be able to handle competing fewer than 10 times a year (plus whatever show commitments they have).

Patrick is just making excuses for his poor performance here. He hasn't had the easiest of seasons, and his jumping is in a bit of disarray right now. I will give him a bit of a break because he clearly has a lot more pressure on him to deliver than most skaters do. It must be difficult for him to publicly explain his rough performances. Still, it would have been nice to wait until after the competition is over to complain.

I don't doubt that this is what he said, but how is participating in one competition in April 2013 going to interfere with his preparation for an event in early 2014?

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I guess April is the only time to get rest and refresh before the long and busy season. It would kill me if someone gives me extra task during my holidays against my will, knowing I have no other holiday for coming 10 months.

At the very least he should have waited until after the competition had ended to voice these opinions. The timing is very bad. I can see where the Japanese people might feel quite offended.
Not to mention the ISU and his own skating federation...yikes!

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Why should the Japanese people and skating federation feel offended? It is everybody's knowledge that most skaters would not have skated at WTT right after the Worlds if all have a choice especially those who competed in recent Worlds. Did they tell you that they are offended?

He would have been asked regarding his performance hence he tells them why he skated poorly. If there is any fault with Patrick, it is his honesty and willingness to answer questions.

And after this competition is over tomorrow, there will be over two weeks left of April to rest.

The complaining in this sport sometimes gets to be ridiculous. Other professional sports have far more grueling competitive schedules than this. Look at the NHL...They are playing 82 games a year, plus a playoff season. Obviously there are major differences between hockey and figure skating (and international traveling for skating is of course more grueling), but a hockey player would probably laugh at a figure skater complaining over having to compete 6 or 7 times a year. Look at MLB... They play over 160 games per year. Sure, it's not as grueling of a sport as skating and they don't have to do 4 minute long programs, but if they can handle a 162 game season (plus playoffs) without getting overly mentally fatigued, I think elite level figure skaters should be able to handle competing fewer than 10 times a year (plus whatever show commitments they have).

Patrick is just making excuses for his poor performance here. He hasn't had the easiest of seasons, and his jumping is in a bit of disarray right now. I will give him a bit of a break because he clearly has a lot more pressure on him to deliver than most skaters do. It must be difficult for him to publicly explain his rough performances. Still, it would have been nice to wait until after the competition is over to complain.

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Team games are different. Even if you have an off day, your team mates can cover for you. Not figure skating or any individual sports.

Really? April is the PERFECT time for the top skaters to get some rest and recharged, even if it's not toward the Olympic season.

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The original post quotes Chan as saying "I wanted to prepare for the Olympics".

I stand by my original point. Yes, April is a good time to rest and get recharged, but competing in one event in early April is not going to ruin anyone's readiness for an event that's nearly a year away.

The original post quotes Chan as saying "I wanted to prepare for the Olympics".

I stand by my original point. Yes, April is a good time to rest and get recharged, but competing in one event in early April is not going to ruin anyone's readiness for an event that's nearly a year away.

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Patrick has a list of shows on in April and June. He had some speaking commitments after his Worlds which did not give him enough time to rest in between Worlds and WTT. He intends to do a new LP the coming season. He may also have other commitments we are not aware of? With his commitments, he is unlikely to be able to sit down and plan his training and learn his new LP until after June. And because he is participating in WTT, he has to train for it. His body can only take so much. (He is not bionic like Plushenko. )

Ooooh, unless some serious takes place during the Pairs or Ladies today, it looks like we just might have this year's Sheldon Cooper Sportsmanship Award recipient.

*****

Dude (Dude being Patrick), what exactly is the problem with saying something along the lines of "My goal was to come here and skate lights-out, and as much as I wanted that to happen, I just wasn't on top of my game the way I planned to be. Sometimes things just don't fall into place -- all skaters experience this during the course of their competitive career, and unfortunately that was the case for me today."

This claim that the top skaters from Canada had no choice but to go smacks of being utter bollocks. His assertion isn't exactly bolstered by the fact that Virtue and Moir opted not to compete without any repercussions (that any of us are aware of). He needs to find his nutsack, man up, and own the fact that he had a crappy competition this week instead of whining like a total pissant and blamestorming as to why he zambonied the ice.

I could very well be wrong, but considering the copious number of splats in all disciplines the past two days, I don't think any other skaters have been holding a whiny pity-party about it.

As for his comment, "I wanted to prepare for the Olympics," I have a sneaking suspicion that the translation Chanslation of that is actually "I want to split so I can spend quality time get nekkid with my GF .